Former equipment manager Sid Brooks, who spent 27 seasons with the team, passed away near his Arizona home Saturday.

The news of Brooks’ death adds to what has been a difficult spring for the Chargers. Last weekend, fullback Lorenzo Neal’s sister lost a battle with cancer. In March, former Chargers greats Ernie Wright and Ernie Ladd passed away, and LaDainian Tomlinson’s father Oliver Tomlinson was killed in an automobile accident in late February.

Brooks became the Chargers’ equipment manager in 1973 and held the post until his retirement in 2000. Later that year, he came out of retirement to take a position at the University of Southern California where he worked until 2004. Prior to joining the Chargers, Brooks spent 20 years in the United States Air Force. He served in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars and earned 28 service medals in addition to a variety of additional honors.